1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a cab arrangement for a motor truck including a driver's compartment, a convertible sleeping compartment and a stand up operator control station for operating and monitoring various pieces of equipment on board the truck.
2. Background Art
There are many types of specialized truck mounted portable equipment units which require an operator control station for operating the equipment controls and for monitoring the performance of the equipment on board the vehicle. For example, specialized pieces of oilfield equipment which must be transported from one well site to another to perform well servicing and drilling operations are typically mounted on over the road truck chassis. An example of such a piece of equipment is a well servicing vehicle adapted for pumping fluids to be injected in the well to stimulate recovery of subterranean oil deposits. This type of equipment is relatively complex and requires substantially full time attention from an equipment operator at a control station preferably located on the vehicle itself. Moreover, many specialized equipment trucks utilize the vehicle main propulsion engine as a power source for on board pumps and other pieces of equipment and, accordingly, it is also necessary that the equipment operator be able to monitor the performance of the vehicle main engine while it is being utilized to power the on board equipment.
In the operation of certain types of portable equipment, such as the aforementioned well servicing trucks, it is also desirable to provide for the operator to be located in a relatively protected area, in the event of catastrophic equipment failure and for operations during inclement weather. Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to provide the equipment operator with a completely enclosed operator control station from which substantially all of the on board equipment can be observed and controlled. It has been still further considered desirable to provide an operator with a place to rest during periods when the equipment is being transported or is standing by awaiting further operations to take place before use of the equipment on board the vehicle.
Particularly in the art of specialized portable truck mounted equipment such as well servicing equipment, there has been a need for an operator control station which is located in a position where the equipment may be easily monitored and controlled, which is accessible to the truck main engine controls for monitoring, which is adapted to provide protection for the operator from adverse weather conditions as well as noise and the hazards associated with operating machinery, and to provide a rest area for the operator between times when the equipment is operated or for use during transport of the vehicle from one job site to another.